The last three decades have seen the issue of corporate insider trading come to the fore.
With the emergence of corporate governance as a central concern to regulators and academics, the
trading activity of corporate insiders neatly spans both governance and corporate fi nance policy areas.
This review article synthesises the main ideas and the most important empirical research in corporate
insider trading. Since regulation is the main backdrop to insider trading, the current law facing
European corporations is also discussed. Finally, the review concludes by providing an insight into the
future direction of research in corporate insider trading.